Tell me how it felt walking into the courtroom and then I saw your eyes go up when you saw her.

Just tell me about that moment of noticing when she entered the room.

She seems smaller, older, but kind of smug still.

I mean, I thought she looked kind of like she thinks she's going to get away with it.

I don't know.

I thought she was looking at me.

I turned to you and I said, I think she's looking at me.

I'm walking back from court with Jess Travino, the internet sleuth who spent the past five years investigating the disappearance of Talina Tzar and digging into the background of Corey Baumily, the woman accused of killing her.

Jess has longed to confront Corey and to see her held accountable for the crimes Jess believes she has committed, and this hot summer day in Madison, Wisconsin is her very first taste of that.

To know what I know about her and then to see her, my heart quickened a little bit.

And then as I.

Sat there, I just kept staring at her, waiting for her to turn, thinking like, is she thinking about what's going to happen in Oklahoma?

From iHeart podcasts.

I'm Melissa Jelson and this is a bonus episode of what Happened to Telena Tzar Corey's first day in court.

The case before us today is entitled The State of Wisconsin Versus Corey Bamilee Adams.

It's Monday, June twenty third, twenty twenty five, and I'm in Madison, Wisconsin to cover a case you've heard if you've followed this podcast.

This is not the trial for the murder of Teleinazar that's yet to take place.

Instead, it's Corey's trial for the attempted murder of Sherry and Mike Ziegler using homemade risin back in twenty fourteen.

I'm here for a lot of reasons.

To report on the trial, because it's connected to Tellina's case, but also to meet some of the people I've written about over the years but haven't met in person, like two of the officers from Wagner, Oklahoma.

They're here too.

Please take your name for the record, spelling it Danny Elliott, DA n N Y E.

L.

L Iott.

I am a lieutenant with the Wager County Sheriff's Office in Oklahoma.

Name's Joel j Oe L.

Whoever w a B E r Okay.

Council, go ahead.

Jess and I are sitting in a windowless courtroom in the Dame County Courthouse, and I'll steer eight story building that makes me feel like we're waiting to update our driver's licenses rather than observe an attempted murder trial.

I have to say, for all our excitement and anticipation to be here, we're among only a handful of other people in the audience, but importantly sitting just in front of us are Sherry and Mike Ziegler, the victims at the center of this case.

I had spoken to Sherry earlier on the phone.

It's in ten years and it's taking the toll on us a little bit, you know, to keep going chew it over and over.

That's why it was hard for me to agree on a time to even talk to you about it.

The trial is expected to last about a week, and over the course of the next few days, Sherry and Mike will have to rehash and relive the trauma that began almost a decad to go but only recently came into full focus.

Sherry and Mike's testimony is barred from being recorded from our previous conversation.

I know she's been nervous about this case finally going to trial.

She both wants it to happen to put an end to this chapter of her life, but is also dreading having to go through it.

We'ved all the story many many times because there's a lot of people we met, and let you know, I heard about it and want to hear all the gruesome details, and it's hard to talk about after a while.

Once the trial is over with, I will be so.

Happy and done with.

And then she goes back to Oklahoma, stands that trial, and hopefully spend the rest of her life in prison or worse.

But until then, Sherry just has to sit and face the person who she believes tried to kill her.

Jess is also here in the courtroom.

She drove in from her home in Minnesota, a four and a half hour track, leaving her family behind and taking off work to be here, to be in the same room with Corey, a person who has loomed large in Jessic's world and this podcast.

I've had this image in my head of this not a literal monster, but to just go through this whole thing and know the thing she's done.

I had just a different image of what she would still look like, and it felt kind of surreal, kind of intense for a little bit, and I kept I got a little nervous when she first came in, all Right, I felt zero sympathy for her.

In fact, all I could think the whole time was I'm looking at her hair, and I'm like, Corey in her fucking mullet.

I mean, she's still rocking and it's terrible.

Well, she probably doesn't have the hairdresser.

When she had when it was terrible, which is small in comparison.

Right, I'm not saying it's not I'm just yeah, the mullet, the jacket, I'm nitpicking her, which I normally Okay, I'm not gonna lie.

I probably do nitpick people sometimes, but I don't know.

I don't like anything about her, so I didn't feel any sympathy.

Corey is seated at a table with her two lawyers on the opposite side of the room from us.

She's wearing glasses and dressed in playing clothes, a blazer and blue collar shirt.

I'd seen photos and heard about her physical presence from the Wagner neighbors.

She was described over and over as physically strong and capable, a workhorse who easily erected fences, managed livestock, and fixed things around the house.

It's hard to square that description with the woman in one of us, who looks rather small and unremarkable.

Corey two has been waiting for this moment.

She's been incarcerated since her arrest for Telena's murder in January twenty twenty one.

In court, she's mostly quiet, occasionally whispering something to her attorneys, and yet we all Jess, the Zieglers and me can't help but stare what unfolds during the court proceedings are two versions of the same story.

The story told by the state.

The prosecutors are Matthew Moser and Jack Schneider.

Is probably pretty familiar to you by now.

It starts in twenty fourteen when the Zieglers go on vacation and come home to a mess.

Weird powder sprinkled about their house, and soon they notice that things are missing, a say and also a credit card which someone had been using.

The deputy who goes to the Ziegler's house testifies that by the time he looked into the robbery and the fraud, Sherry had done quite a bit of her own amateur slew thing.

When you at.

Conduct was Sherry.

Did Sherry indicate to you if she had done anything herself to potentially investigate who would use this card?

She had done some groundwork on it based on the fraudulent credit card statement that they had.

I think she was able to view a picture or some video through one of the locations.

From the footage, Sherry could see exactly who was using her credit card.

Do you recall her indicating to you that the person she thought who might have used the credit card was her neighbor who she knows deb yes.

Did you ultimately follow up based on information Sharon Ziegler gave you and determined that the person she was calling dead was Corey Bombley Adams.

I did, yes.

Corey is ultimately convicted of ingeing Sherry's credit card.

Wisconsin police never find the missing safe, and the strange debris is written off as a prank.

Cherry told me the deputy didn't even collect any of it for evidence.

I actually did show him the sample of that kitty letter stuff that we had collected, and he goes, yeah, it looks like kitty letter oil.

Dry.

Yeah, I don't know what it is and just kind of brushed it off and laugh.

You know, he just didn't do anything more.

On the stand, the prosecutor asks the deputy about this tipty.

Zach, Hey, you've now learned that some of the powder left behind in the Siegler residence test depositive for risin.

I did had you known it was potentially a toxic substance at the time, would you likely have sought to collect anything that was left Absolutely?

The jury here is that the investigation into the incident with the Zieglers is closed after Corey's conviction for credit card fraud.

That is until twenty twenty, when Corey comes in contact with police in Oklahoma.

All of a sudden, I get a phone call out of the blue from this gentleman asking questions about Corey.

And I was really hesitant to say too much about it because I didn't know if this was something that Corey was putting us up to to get slander on us, or you know.

I mean, I just did not trust this woman.

I lost trust and a lot of people and a lot of things after that.

When you were watching Corey today, how would you describe her demeanor while she was observing the core proceedings.

She seemed really calm to me.

I didn't notice any fidgeting or I noticed a lot of looking around just to see, but I wanted to see if she looked at Sherry when she walked by, and I noticed that she kind of turned forward and didn't even make our contact.

The trial moves along relatively slowly.

On day two, the police from Oklahoma are called to testify.

Important note here the jury is never told that Corey is charged with murder in another case.

They are only told that in twenty twenty, she came in contact with these authorities in Oklahoma who were investigating a different incident, so they have to keep their answers pretty vague.

They can't say they spent almost a year playing cat and mouse with Corey, trying to collect enough evidence to put her behind bars.

The jury is unaware of any of this.

You might recall that we previously used a voice actor to read statements by Detective Joel Weber, the lead investigator in the disappearance of Helenazar.

Now you can hear his actual voice as he's questioned by the prosecutor.

Back in April of twenty twenty, did you be Kime involved in an investigation of Wanger County, Oklahoma that resulted in you having contact with the person identify as Corey Bombay Adams.

Yes, you see miss Bombaly Adams in court today.

Could you point around described where she's sitting in what she's wearing.

Out to the right side of the table in front of me and looks like a white blazer.

I guess the record reflect the identification.

The prosecutor brings up Weber's interview with Corey on May ninth, twenty twenty, when he asked her about the circumstances surrounding the credit card fraud.

In episode four, you heard a recreation of that interview based on transcripts at trial, the state played the real version.

My neighbor, my male neighbor, and I will be very good friends.

And my husband and I spent every penning we had to move to with confidence, and they went through a tough time where we didn't have much money.

He gave me this card to use, his work card, his white car or his card to use and said he'll get yourself from groceries.

You know, he'll fill your tech foot path and it's where you contained that well.

The white was jealous with him.

And I for no reason, and she had a tenaria and she pressed charges because I used her Pride card.

He stood behind her.

I didn't.

I still like the byel.

He's a big guy.

I just said she's not a big cook.

I'm sitting behind the Zieglers while this video from twenty twenty plays in court as they listened to Corey tell yet another version of the events of twenty fourteen.

Back then, Corey claimed in court she'd found the credit card on the ground and used it.

Of course, Sherry believes neither story is the truth.

I watch her shake her head in frustration.

Clencher Jaw.

Another Wagner cop, Danny Elliott, testifies about finding castor beans, which can be used to make ricin, in a safe in Corey's possession.

Lieutenant Elliott, I'm showing you that it's marked this exhibit thirty eight.

What do you recognize Exhibit thirty eight to be that.

Is a small safe that was located in a bedroom closet.

I'd like to ask you some questions about this safe.

When this was located in this Bombay Adam's residence on May twenty ninth, did she make any statements in your presence about this item.

Something to the effect of it's old, say that she didn't even have the key to it anymore.

At some point, were you able to locate a key for the safe?

Yes, very quickly.

I'm next showing you what's been received in eminence is Exhibit forty.

Are these other items that were found inside that safe?

Yes, the mags of seeds, the bag of castor beans.

The Wagner cops also bring up the recipe they found on Corey's computer on how to make risin.

The prosecutors asked the Wagner police about a tip they received, a tip we mentioned briefly in the podcast, but was a significant piece of the investigator's puzzle.

At some point.

Also, had your Deputy Weber received essentially some of the reports or information about the case from the Alexander Adams.

I believe investigated Weber ducas.

Had you become aware that Alexander Adams was the ex husband of Corey Bomley Adams during this case.

Yes, you may remember Alexander Adams, Corey's X who goes by Alec.

He's a Celtic musician who first connected Corey and Telena at Gorefest in twenty twenty after Telena went missing, he contacted Wagner police and told them that Corey had previously admitted to him that she tried to poison their neighbors in Wisconsin.

At trial, Alec is a key witness for the prosecution.

On the stand, He's soft spoken and wears a black suit jacket against a plumb purple button down shirt.

His hair is gray and thinning on top, and the long braid drapes over his shoulder.

The prosecutor asks Alec about the events of twenty fourteen and why he didn't come forward at the time.

Mister Adams, in terms of when this boma le disclosed the poisoning issue to you, did you have any concerns for whether you would be in trouble?

Yes?

Why was that?

Well?

When she told me she'd done this, I looked at her and I said, that's attempted murder and I am not with that.

Her reply was, you can't say anything about it because both of us will be arrested and the animals put to sleep.

At the time, we had fifty almost fifty, maybe a few more rescue animals.

How did that affect you in terms of that statement being made to you by miss Pommeli animals.

That was terrifying and very very successful in silencing me.

Alec goes on to say he also reached out directly to the Zieglers in twenty twenty, an act he didn't feel he could have done earlier for fear of retribution from Corey.

What was the purpose of you contacting the Zeglers.

I thought at.

That time that I might have I might be safe to at least let them know that if they had found any of that powder in the house, if they still had some, I told them to get it checked because it could very well be rice.

And I just.

Thought they should know in case anything might have come up, like you know, kidney trouble or something like that.

And I thought, at least this way, you know, they could maybe do something.

As Alec speaks, my eyes drift back over to Corey, I'm curious if I'll see some sort of reaction, the furrow of a brow or maybe a WinCE, and she's staring him down, silent but intense.

During Danny Elliott's testimony, he explains that after getting the tip from Alec and finding the castor beans, they too felt compelled to reach out to Sherry Ziegler in the summer of twenty twenty.

What was the reason for contacting the Seaglers.

Well, it was.

Curiosity.

At first.

We had got the reports that there was some white substance that was spread during the burglary of the Zieglers.

We'd found the castor beans.

I know, eventually the computer showed the recipe for the ricin, so I was very curious to find out if that substance could have possibly been and based on what Alexander was saying, if it was possibly rising.

She said that she didn't have any of the substance.

A short time later, she contacted me back directly and said that she had went through I believe it's her socks an underwear drawer and shook everything out out and sure enough found a sample of it.

Did you have any discussion in this Siegler about her sending you that substance?

Yeah, I told her at that point, and I didn't really know what to do with it, but the I sid told her to put some gloves on, put it in a ziploc bag, and overnight it to.

Me with the benefit of hindsight.

How would you evaluate that decision?

I thought it was in my finest thought process.

We don't deal with a lot of rice in a Wager County.

I try not to laugh.

It's a brief moment of levity.

In otherwise somber proceedings.

The jury hears that the sample Sherry sent to Danny Elliott tests positive for risin, as do subsequent samples taken from the Ziegler house.

And that's pretty much the sum of the state's case that in twenty fourteen, Corey entered the Ziegler house, stole the credit card, and left homemade rice and strewn about with the attention of killing her neighbors.

Attempted homicide as you tried your best and it didn't work.

No one is putting ricin in someone's bed.

In their sock drawer, in their office.

If you're not trying to kill them, you're not trying to have them consume a tiny amount just to get sick.

There's no conceivable reason to put ricin in someone's house other than to.

Cause their death.

The bulk of the evidence the prosecutors present is the stuff the Oklahoma cops gathered, the recipes for risin found on Corey's computers, the castor beans found in a safe, along with a receipt that proved Corey bought them years before the Ziegler incident.

Honestly, we really didn't learn any new information that we didn't already know.

But the defense had a different story to tell.

With Sherry, they're really good people, and it is.

It was weird, you know, at first, telling people I'm gonna go stay with Sherry and Mike and they're like in their house, like do you even know them that well?

And I've talked to Sherry for five years on and off the phone, and it felt okay, I don't know, I'm It goes back to the intruce of an impulsive part that I guess we talked about.

Jess is staying with the Zieglers for the trial, which is exciting for her.

She's part of the inner circle, gets the inside scoop.

But also it's a lot long hours in court followed by emotional nights.

The uncertainty weighs heavy on all of them.

Eventually it's the defense's turn.

We're all wondering if we will get to hear from Corey directly, Will she testify, tell her story in her own words?

We learn as the judge questions Corey, the answer is no.

I have some questions for you.

Uh, Miss Bonmley Adams.

Do you understand that you have both a conscial right to testify as well as the right.

To not testify?

Yes?

Have you had the opportunity to discuss your decision on whether to testify with your lawyers?

Yes?

Have you had enough time.

To discuss your decision with your lawyers?

Yes?

Have you made a decision as to whether you will or will not testify?

Yes?

Your owner, and what is that decision?

I will not testify.

Those dozen or so words are pretty much all we hear from Corey, and as her attorneys lay out their case, there's not much about Corey at all.

And for the defense attorneys, we have Kathleen Chung and let us quit us.

They don't contest that risin was found inside the Ziegler's house, but they do question who placed the rice in there and if the jury can ever really know for sure?

She's been wrongly charged.

She's been roundly accused of this.

She did not try to poison the Sieglers.

They suggest that Corey's then husband, Alexander Adams had just as much access and opportunity to poison their neighbors as Corey did.

A prosecution says that Corey Bomelli Adams is the only one who could have put Ricin in the Ziegler's home.

That is just not true.

Every piece of evidence that they say points at my client points at Alexander as Also, they say computer searches show you that my client did.

A lot of searches.

They don't know who created those documents that the detective told you that.

They don't know who visited those websites.

They don't know who made bookmarks or head could eats.

When asked, the district Patory said, Corey's computers.

But the detective doesn't know who owns them.

He doesn't know where they've been, he doesn't know.

Who's been on them.

He only knows where they were from at one moment in time.

All of the rest of the information.

Comes from Alexander EPs.

Corey's lawyers focus on one specific event that they see as damning.

According to emails that came out during discovery, Wisconsin had once offered Alec immunity from prosecution for his cooperation.

I don't know what kinds of potential charges could even be brought against Alec, but the defense suggests that to free himself from such a liability, he might say anything now.

Still, there's no evidence there was ever a formal immunity agreement between Alec and the state.

Nothing was ever signed.

Alexander is bent on this, and he has pursued this from twenty twenty to today.

And he has repeatedly told many people that Corey confessed.

This is the key to this case.

Alexander's report of my client's alleged confession the central allegation here.

It is the only evidence at all that puts my clients in the house.

Only Alexander Adams says that the substance that my client possessed was rising.

He's the only one who says that my client knew how to make rising and that she had it and she did make it.

That's only him.

He's the only one who says Corey intended attempted.

Murder, and he couldn't stop saying that.

In closing arguments, Corey's attorneys remind the jury that the burden is on the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Corey committed this crime, a threshold that they do not believe has been met.

The state must prove that Missus Corbomelli Bonaley had an intent to murder Michael and Sharon Siegler, and that she.

Put that rising in acts for the commission of murder.

There is no proof of eddy of that.

The judge will to define reasonable doubt for you.

This that is just this is a completely doubtful case.

Would you even buy a car from Alexander Adams, much less a house or trust him in a decision about something serious?

This entire case depends on Alexander adams credibility.

They can't prove she was in the house ever.

They can't prove she's ever had ricin.

The only person who's say she's brewing ricin is Alexander.

They can't even prove she dislikes Ziebler's much.

They also bring up the question of motive.

Why in the world would she want to do this.

Of course, there's an obvious reason to steal.

She wanted money, and apparently she lied about it when she was Oklahoma.

She lied about it here and she lied about it there.

So I think it's fairly clear that there's some evidence here that she's a feat And it seems that she that card, she clearly used it without permission, and then she lied about it.

I don't know how you get from that to murder.

That is a huge week.

On Friday, after four and a half days of testimony, the State and defense rest and the jury enters deliberations.

It only took them two hours.

Has the jury reached a verdict?

Yeah, all right, Please pass the verdict envelope to the bibliity.

Verdict Count one, We the jury find the defendant, Corey Bomily Adams, guilty of attempted first degree intentional homicide, has charged in count one of the information.

Members of the jury, as to count one, is this your verdict?

If it is, say yes.

If it is not, say no, yes.

Verdict Count two, We the jury find the defendant, Corey Bomily Adams, guilty of attempted first degree intentional homicide, has charged in count two of the information.

Corey is convicted of two counts of attempted murder in the first degree, one for Sherry, one for Mike.

But Jess isn't there in the courtroom to witness it.

She had left Wisconsin the night before after sitting through four days of trial.

She was exhausted.

She told me she needed to get back to her family.

After the verdict, I called her as quickly as I could tell me what just happened.

So I get a call from somebody at the courtroom that said verdict and guilty of all charges.

I am so psyched.

I was a little worried after some of the testimony I heard, but like, I'm really excited.

I'm so happy a disciplined and you weren't there to see it.

Extremely, like extremely I'm so mad at myself for going home.

I got home yesterday at like two in the morning, so I'm sad but happy.

I mean it kind of.

I mean, I guess the verdict was all that mattered.

I just wish I could have looked at her, but from reports of people there, she was just like a statue, no emotion when the verdict was read at all, just completely blank.

My phone is currently blowing up with people guilty, guilty, guilty.

I was like, yes, I know.

Literally, as I'm talking to you, I have one, two, three, four, five, six messages all coming through.

So just trying to get back to people and there's people in different states waiting to hear.

And yeah, I'm super excited this really worked out.

I'm I'm glad.

I feel like we got some It's like our first step in getting justice for Tulena.

This is really like the first part of it.

I feel like this is like the beginning steps of it, so it makes me happy.

I reached out to Sherry Ziegler too to ask if she wanted to share her reaction to Corey's guilty verdict, but she passed.

She said the verdict is what she hoped for and now she just wants to put this experience behind her.

Meanwhile, Jess keeps looking forward.

Corey's sentencing hearing is scheduled for August.

She faces up to sixty years per charge, and then, if all goes as planned, Corey will be sent back to Oklahoma to stand trial for the murder of Telena Czar.

It's not that I'm not invested in Sharry Mike's case, because i am, but the Telena case is where I think my heart is kind of at I think that one's going to be a lot more Oh my god, this is finally happening than this one is.

Jess had always planned on going to Oklahoma to attend the murder trial, but she's wavered recently, having a bit of a crisis of confidence.

In the month since the final episode of the podcast came out, Jess told me she'd been affected by some of the negative comments she'd read online.

I don't know, I want to get emotional, but I struggle with some of the Reddit stuff.

In some of the shitty comments, people are saying that I'm intrusive and narcissistic.

And because I second guess, I'm self aware.

I know sometimes it doesn't sound like it here, but I am.

But because of the podcast, Jess also recently connected with Telena's sister, Cheryl over the phone.

Cheryl told Jess she was grateful for all of her work, and she passed along a similar message from Telena's mom.

Knowing that they think it's okay made this better for me.

I was actually, after reading some of that stuff, I'm like, go, ID should just stop doing this, like finished recording for Melissa and just drop everything and never talk about it again.

And when she was like, no, never stop talking about it, I was like, then I'll do it for them and for her.

What Happened to Telenazar is a production of iHeart Podcasts.

It's written, reported, and hosted by me Melissa Jelson, with writing and story editing by Lauren Hansen, our executive producer is Ryan Murdoch.

For iHeart Podcasts, executive producers are Jason English and Carl Catle.

Zoe Denkla is our associate producer.

Jeremy Thal is our editor.

Original music by Aaron Kaufman, with additional music by Jeremy Thal and Gideon Crevishet.

Additional sound recording by Nicholas Bartel and Tony Bubbletz special thanks to the staff at the Dane County Courthouse.

Episodes are mixed and mastered by Carl Catle.

Our logo is designed by Edo Moore.

Thanks so much for listening.